A lot of my friends are seriously into running, as a matter of fact some go for the long distance/marathon, something I’d never even dare to consider. One cause for doing so -a notion they all share- is that it clears your head and allows new ideas to enter and inspire the mind. That’s the theory. It actually doesn’t happen to me, ever. Mostly, my mind revolves around the same two questions, how far I’ve already gotten and how long will it take me to get back home. But I do enjoy the beauty of the southern part of the Englischer Garten, all with the invaluable support of my GET IT OVER WITH-play list and my iPod. But no exciting ideas have popped in so far. Until last week.

We approached a shadowy corner near the Friedensengel (Angel of Peace monument) that was covered over and over with wood garlic. It clearly had exceeded its best before date already, which however didn’t keep it from spreading its distinctive, quite obnoxious smell. Which on a brighter note triggered good thoughts about natures gifts and the turning of seasons. Before I start to sound cheesy, the next thing that crossed my mind were elderflowers, typically blooming in late Spring early Summer (around May/June). With the horrible Spring weather we have had, it couldn’t be too late to rush out for a quick harvest, could it? Although biology had always been one of my favorite subjects (way) back in school, I was never really good in identifying trees or bushes from a distance. Close by and bringing my nose into play now that’s a different story and thinking of elderflower, its dead give away is its deliciously heady perfume. When I passed by bushes with white blossoms I had a vague guess what it might be. The unique scent gave it away – hooray, it’s elderflower time!

As if the rich, fragrant scent made me high, I picked up speed, because I couldn’t wait to get back home and grab a basket before somebody else might discover my sensational find. Did I say sensational? On our way back it dawned on me that elderflowers are simply EVERYWHERE! Once on my radar, I not only realized bushes and trees are growing wild all over the park and gardens, but even in our own backyard, providing endless possibilities for a bountiful harvest. Shame on me for being so ignorant and not seeing the obvious…

Since I haven’t worked with elderflowers before, I consulted smart books, the web and finally packed up. Equipped with a knife and a basket, taking to heart what I just had read: Don’t pick elderflowers near a road (obviously), carefully look for plant lice or similar creatures before picking them and only harvest the “ripe” blossoms (the blooming ones, not yet withered) including the stalks (makes it easier to handle). Carry them home gently, so as not to lose the tasty pollen.

The plethora of uses is overwhelming: wine, cordials and sorbets to mention a few, it’s fragrant flavor can also be used to enhance the flavor of jams, pickles, chutneys and vinegars. At the same time elderflower (or common elder) is an effective remedy for various ailments and this natural approach to health is becoming more and more popular.

Fried Elderflower (Hollerküchln)

It’s becoming a common theme, but what can I do, the source of my recipe plans is again deeply rooted in my family. Something that has been lingering around the edges of my brain for quite a while are Hollerküchln, a delicious, traditional Bavarian recipe from my grandma’s inexhaustible repertoire – one of the many I haven’t tried myself yet.

Furnished with her original recipe, and with Oliver’s bewildered and scrutinizing look in mind, I prepared a batter very similar to what is being used for Apfelküchln (fried apple rings). My own spin on the recipe is using Karamalz (my personal weakness, a sweet alcohol-free dark malt beer) instead of regular dark beer.

The Hollerküchln turned out incredibly yummy, “yummy enough” that I had troubles keeping up with Oliver’s gusto. Golden brown and crunchy they are best eaten right out of the pan, generously dusted with cinnamon sugar. Or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Your call. Will someone notice that the elderflower tree in our backyard is seriously thinned out now…?

Start with preparing the elderflowers: Gently dip the flower heads in a bowl of cold water to remove any loosely-attached dirt and/or anything with feet. Allow to dry on paper towels for a few minutes, otherwise the batter won’t stick well to the blossoms.

Note: Some recipes advise to not wash them (saves more of the delicate pollen), but even after chilling the blossoms in the fridge for 15 minutes (the cold supposedly helps to get little insects to abandon their hideaway) I still spotted the one or the other tiny critter – so I washed them, very carefully though.

The batter: Beat the egg whites until stiff, set aside. In a separate bowl, blend together the egg yolks, flour, dark beer and a pinch of salt. Whisk until well combined, then carefully fold in the egg whites.

Dip the flowers up-side down in the batter and immediately pan fry in clarified butter over medium to high heat. For more crunchiness, just lightly dip the blossoms. A few might even end up fried without any batter at all. For a softer, chewier result dip them more generously.

When lightly browned on the bottom, remove from the pan and snip off the thick stalks. Now flip them and fry the other side until golden, drip off excessive fat on a paper towel and serve hot with cinnamon sugar. If you can’t be bothered to trim the stalks, just fry a little longer on the first side. It actually can be fun to eat them this way, simply nibble the crunchy blossoms from the stalks (which should not be consumed).

Resume: There is probably no such a thing as healthy fried food and even the elderflowers’ qualities won’t fully make up for it, but having it once in a while won’t hurt either, RIGHT? These Hollerküchln have to be one of the best ways to indulge yourself in fried food with the added benefit of having a fabulous elder aroma throughout the apartment …This will be a regular snack over the next weeks, it’s a must try!

Elderflower Syrup

Sodas based on elderflowers have been popular all along. Whether diluted with pure water, bubbling with soda water or sparkling mineral water, elderflower infused syrup makes deliciously refreshing drinks. It adds a nice twist to Prosecco and Champagne, perfect for an elaborate aperitif. I can even imagine it with the one or other dessert, did someone say panna cotta… sorbet…?

Back in the days when I was a kid experimenting with all kinds of mixtures and probably semi toxic concoctions, I remember my mum telling me to not use our regular water bottles as containers, simply to prevent someone from mistakenly drinking from it. Hm, ‘must have forgotten her word of advice for a moment, but was suddenly reminded of it, when I heard Oliver making funny noises in the kitchen. Guess I shouldn’t have used one of our regular water bottles for the leftover syrup *snicker*. What really cracked me up though was the sight of him leaning over the kitchen sink slurping water in record time trying to dilute the syrup in his tummy…

Clean the elderflowers (see recipe above), then remove the little blossoms from their stems.

In a very large pot bring the water to a boil and add the sugar. Stir well until the sugar has completely dissolved, then remove from heat.

Mix citric acid with a few tablespoons of water in a separate pot over medium heat until dissolved and add it to the syrup, stir well. Let the mixture cool down a bit, then add the elderflower blossoms.

Cover and leave to infuse for a minimum of 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Strain through a muslin lined sieve, then fill in clean bottles.

The recipe worked like a charm and the cordial is so much better than anything I have bought so far, mixed with sparkling mineral water it could probably even compete with the new hip, organic lemonade Bionade, but at much lower costs! The only negative side effect: The kitchen was turned into an indescribable sticky mess! Oh well.

With this being my first attempt at making homemade cordial, I have not yet gained much experience with the various methods of preserving. The German Chefkoch forums have already been a good source of information in the past and have also proved to be a good starting point for this topic. Apparently, the added citric acid already serves as a preservative, hence the syrup should stay good way past summer, but I doubt that: We already used up almost one liter over the last week… And today I received the first replenishment order from friends.

When I was a kid obsessed with the notion of "Food for Free" (a book by a guy called Richard Maby or maybe Mabey), I was always scavenging around for free eats. My elderly aunt, leant me her hand written recipe for elderflower "champagne" and I went about and made some. I must have been in my early teens. I was totally amazed that the drink I conjured up from flowers and sugar turned into a floral, fragant, everfesscent soda in the bottle. It seemed to me like magic because I certainly did not consider myself a magician. Oh how wish I still had that hand written old recipe. Not that you can find elderflower here in the US, butit would be nice to daydream about making it again.

You are unbelievable. That is beautiful. I would so love to live next door to you.
I had two reasons for running marathons:
first reason: I could eat anything and everything I wanted and still lost weight
second reason: so I could say I did

I am so envious--you have access to elderflowers! I sampled elderflower syrup last summer in England for the first time; I haven't had it since, but it was so good that I think of it every now and again.

On another note-I share your views on jogging. I do it several days a week, but can only ever think of how far I've gone and how far I have yet to go. You're right: thank goodness for IPods.

Marie

Jun 14th, 2006

You're website is absolutely fabulous! The ideas, the recipes and the photos, simply love it! Now I have to keep my eyes open for some elderflowers, can't wait to make my first homemade cordial ;)

Amazing post, great idea to produce your own elderflower cordial! I'll give it a try as soon as I find the first blossoms. Love your pictures!

Ingrid

Jun 16th, 2006

It is always a pleasure to visit your blog and find some fantastic photography and recipe. I never tasted elderflower is the scent similar to other flowers? And the bottles are so beautifull! (Sorry for my bad english)

Those personalised sleek bottles are such a nice touch! I've been giving jams & cakes for friends in plain & ordinary jars & boxes, and have been dreaming about personalised "brand labels". I must really design one now:)

[...] Nicky from Delicious Days in Munich joins us for the first time to give us another look at elderberry blossoms. She presents a different take on the blossom fritters, which she calls, “Hollerküchln,” and which include beer to flavor the batter! That sounds really tasty, but she doesn’t stop there–oh, no–she adds a recipe for “Elderflower Cordial,” which looks and sounds like something that the Erlkoenig (The Elf King) would drink in his great hall under the mountain. Thank you for the lovely entries, Nicky, and I hope to see you next time around, too! [...]

Dear Sam, You must be just as nostalgic as I am! I thought elderflower would be available in the States, not at every corner, perhaps even hand grown, but maybe there is a tiny chance you can revive your memories? The home-made cordial really is addictive, I'm working on a second batch - it has become my favorite thirst quencher...
PS: Concerning the misspelling, hey that's what happens (in the real world) when can't just run your text against a spell checker. Oh wait it's German! ;)

Tanna, Our neighbors are foodies, too... They returned from France today and brought some Calvados for which they received some elderflower cordial. Can't imagine not living next door to foodies ;)
About the marathon: I would love to tell everybody I ran a marathon, but I'm simply too lazy for long-distance, let alone have the stamina!

Marilyn, Thank god I'm not alone holding this point of view. Being surrounded by avid runners, I sometimes think I'm the only (lazy) one...

This week its Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging is traveling to France. Virginie from Absolutely Greenis doing the recap from Nantes in France. Nantes is "only" 1370 km away from my home, nearly round the corner in comparison with about 8100 km linear ...

since making elderflower syrup last year, i have been wanting to try the elderflower tempura - i will this year and shall go out to look for elderflower blossoms this weekend... just hope that it won't be to late! thanks for sharing this recipe, I can't wait to try it!

What a beautiful blog, so full of inspiration! My partner, Barry is right now, this very moment filtering some elderflower cordial through some butter muslin. I came across this site as I was looking for a recipe for Elderflower Champagne, as we fancied making something fun and fizzy! My friend made some of this once and left it in a cupcoard under the stairs only to be woken one morning by some corks popping off, she really thought it was gunfire!
Apparently, the fritters are delicious made with the Elderflower Berries in the smae way as described above.
I must tell you that we have renamed our Elderflower Cordial because Barry's daughter couldn't remember what it was she was drinking last year and she asked for some more of that 'Daisy Water', we loved that name so much that our labels will have that written on them with Elderflower Codial in brackets!
Love the photos by the way, did you take them yourself? Barry and I are very keen photographers and I would love it if you found the time to visit the website that I made to show off our work.
Looking forward to hearing from you
Best wishes from Marianne and Barry in Cambridgeshire :^)

Ondrayah

Jun 26th, 2006

I found your website when looking for a recipe for elderflower cordial. I live in beautiful southwestern Wisconsin USA and realized that I have elderberry shrubs growing on my property. I've got my first batch of cordial infusing right now! When I get home from work my first thing will be to strain and taste. How fun!!

[...] Very cool fried elderflower in Munich, from the gorgeous delicious:days. [...]

Renia

Jun 28th, 2006

Oh yum, loved reading all about this and want to rush out to try the recipes. I live in the Isarvorstadt and have been running up to the Englischer Garten the last month and know what you mean about the garlic smell!

Any chance of you sharing your GET IT OVER WITH playlist??, I suffer from the same need for distraction to get through my run, looking at the secenery, the people and some upbeat music- but I really do love it!!!

Dear Marianne, Thanks for your lovely feedback! Daisy Water, how nice is that ;) I totally know what you're talking about, because of my favorite cake my mom's nanny used to make (she still lives right next door my grandparents' house!). I always called it Linzer Cake, even though it had nothing in common with the real Linzer cake. But in my memories it will always be Linzer Cake ;)
And yes, all the photos on this blog we took ourselves - what started out as fun turned into a passionate and loved hobby. Your pictures are really beautiful, my favorite has to be the little girl with the ponytail and the pink glasses. Gorgeous!

Ondrayah, I'm happy to see there are some places in the US where you can find elderflower! Hope your cordial turned out great and you are already enjoying a refreshing drink, cold and sparkling...

Renia, of course I will share it :) It's a rather short (now what does that say about my running path...) mix of not necessarily compatible music pieces, which changes almost on a weekly basis:

Another beautiful post! I love the idea of the flowers in batter. Like you I've started spotting elderflower trees on my runs and was amazed how many there are. I was about to make the elderflower syrup but got slightly confused by your recipe...in the text you mention citric acid but in the ingedients list ascorbic acid? Which one is best to use? Thank you :-)
Eva

Edit: Oooops, my fault! I used citric acid, just corrected it. Various cordial recipes use ascorbic acid instead, but usually it is more expensive and some people are worried about overdosing on vitamin C when quenching their thirst with too much cordial ;)

[...] I couldn’t believe how popular Elderflower was, from cordials to soft drinks it seemed to show up everywhere. On my return I discovered Delicious Days had posted about it too. I may have thought “aromatherapy water” was silly when I saw it at the Fancy Food Show in January, but the Brits seem to be taking this kind of thing seriously! [...]

Barbara

Jul 30th, 2006

Recipe for Löwenzahnhonig (dandelion honey)

Here are two recipes:

Put 100 clean dandelion bloossoms in 1 liter water and let sit for several hours. Slice 2 organic lemons and add to the blossoms. Bring to a boil and strain through a fine cloth. Add 1 kg sugar and boil until the liquid becomes thick.

elderberry bushes are quite common in the US, growing by the roadside and near streams etc. (i live in massachusetts and didn't realize this until i started looking for them). they are also available at nurseries -- i bought 2 this spring to have my own supply.
you should hear my (english speaking ) kids pronounce holler..ha ha ha

Discussion about this entry on the Toytown Germany forum: Elderflowers - recipe tips....

James

Sep 8th, 2006

I love making elderflower cordial. It is one of those things that marks early summer, in the same way that blackberries and mark the beginning of autumn. Here is another elderflower cordial recipe. It is a family recipe given by Jane Grigson's daughter Sophie in a newspaper column about 15 years ago. It is better than anything I have bought. This makes about 2.5 litres of syrup.

Following the same basic method as your recipe, strip the zest from the lemons (I find a potato peeler works best for this). Then strip off the bitter white pith before slicing the lemons into discs. Add the lemon zest strips and slices to the elderflowers and citric acid. Then continue using your method adding the hot sugar syrup, and infusing overnight or for 24 hours. Strain the syrup carefully. Do not press it to extract the last drops, or the lemon slices will make the syrup cloudy and give too much flavour to the cordial. If you have a home winemaking filter kit, passing the strained cordial through it, will give you a beautiful and perfectly bright light yellow syrup the colour of early summer sunshine. The difference this makes is only cosmetic however, the cordial is equally delicious slightly cloudy. Fill in clean, and ideally sterilised bottles (like you do jam jars). Store somewhere dark and cool, and in my experience it will last up to six months or so.

PS The filter kit also comes in handy if you like to make sloe gin, another early autumn ritual!

James, Thank you for taking the time and sharing your recipe & tips! I totally fell in love with the notion of producing my own cordial, so I'm keen on experimenting with new recipes and will follow your advice next year when the elderflowers blossom again.

James

Sep 12th, 2006

Oh yes and there's one other tip that I don't think anybody else has mentioned so far. The heady perfumed flavour of Elderflower marries exceptionally well with gooseberry, a fruit that is usually in season at the same time.

The first and second photos made me thought that it was only a dream... the photography are lovely and I can dream of walking in the field with all these flower around me.

Michiel

Nov 17th, 2006

Hey thank you very much for this recipe. It's great to be able to prepare our own syrup. For those of us who don't have the time to prepare it or can't find elderflowers,, I found a website which sells this elderflower syrup L'Epicerie I don't know if it can help.

Oh gosh, what luck for me today, running into this wonderful site. One that I will bookmark for sure! I planted two elderberry bushes last year as the currant bushes I got weren't faring well with the rabbits :(. One is growing tall while the other is struggling a bit more. I don't think I have enough blossoms for that cordial but sounds yummy. I can't wait to get the berries and try my hand with them. I have apples, currants and raspberries all nearby in my yard. I've got the 'York' and 'Adams' varieties. I live in central Wisconsin.
We are getting alot of rain this year, lots of flooding in the area. I'll be back to learn more about my new berry bushes.
Thanks for all the good information. Enjoy!

To Baraiste
I freeze my cordial every year, so that we have enough to last until the next elderflower season. My tip is to use small plastic bottles (330ml size is perfect) and leave a small gap at the top for expansion. You can make your own sticky labels and then you won't confuse it with anything else! Just made this year's batch - delicious!

Pip

Jul 2nd, 2009

I do a cordial using 50 elderflower 'heads', 1.75kg sugar, 30 gm citric acid, 1 lemon finely sliced and 1.5 litres of boiling water. Pour the water over the elderflowers, lemon and sugar, dissolve the acid in a little more water then mix in with other ingredients. Leave in a cool spot for 4-5 days, stirring occassionally. This gives a fantastic cordial with a very strong and lovely elderflower taste.

Ark

Jul 4th, 2009

elderflower dipped in whipped eggwhite, the in sugar and left for a few hours in strong sunlight make a wonderfull dessert.

sean

Jul 19th, 2010

elderflower brulee another idea, what about the berrys ,wee have loads just coming through at the side of our house any ideas?????

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